This invention relates generally to footwear, and more particularly, to protective footwear.
Many companies have areas which contain equipment and the like which present hazards to the people in the vicinity of that equipment. Accordingly, those people in the hazardous areas are required to wear safety, or protective, clothing. Such protective clothing includes hard hats, protective glasses, ear protection, and the like. A common item of protective clothing is a shoe safety shield. Such shields protect the wearer's foot and toes.
These protective shoes are worn at all times by those who spend much of their time in the hazardous areas. Such shoes are well known and the art contains many examples of protective shoes.
However, many employees spend only a few minutes, or a part, of their workday in such hazardous areas. It is common for such employees to wear their regular dress, or street, shoes into such areas, as they do not want to spend the time changing shoes when they are in such areas for only a short period of time. Those same employees will assiduously wear protective glasses, earplugs and/or hard hats. However, due to the inconvenience of changing shoes, they will leave their feet unprotected.
Therefore, there is need for a shoe guard which can be easily placed over a street or dress shoe without marring that shoe. Heretofore, protective shields mar, or in some manner, mutilate the shoe. For example, some shields have holding fingers which are inserted into the shoe sole, thereby mutilating the shoe. Such protective shields will not be conducive to wear on dress shoes.
Accordingly, the present invention is embodied in a protective shoe shield which can be used without marring the shoe.